Music Row Happy Hour: Connecting Advertisers & Country Fans

Country music is one of the most beloved genres, with a rich history spanning over a century. With pop artists like Beyoncé and Post Malone stepping into the country music scene and country stars like Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan topping the charts, the genre’s popularity continues to climb. Listeners across SiriusXM and Pandora are saddling up and dialing in to country music, and advertisers have opportunities to meet them through their headphones and speakers—and IRL.  

To celebrate our listeners’ love for country music and to connect brands with fans, SiriusXM’s The Highway hosts Music Row Happy Hour Live, a weekly event where Buzz Brainard goes live on-air with exclusive artist interviews and performances.

Every Friday, The Highway takes over the second floor of Margaritaville for an afternoon of live music, connecting listeners to their favorite artists. Each June, Nashville hosts four days and four nights of the ultimate country music fan experience for 90,000 of country music’s biggest fans. This year, SiriusXM’s The Highway celebrated Nashville’s annual country music festival with a special, four-day edition of Music Row Happy Hour Live. Fans were treated to four days of non-stop performances and interviews from over 50 of today’s top trending country artists and the chance to mingle with brand sponsors. 

Create Unforgettable Moments

The Highway features a variety of country music favorites from well-known hitmakers to emerging talent. Music Row Happy Hour Live is where those stars come together to premiere their latest work and connect with fans from all over the nation. It’s also our way to put advertisers in front of these excited, engaged audiences. With over 5,500 total fans in attendance, the opportunity for advertisers to meet consumers while they’re having the time of their lives is huge.

As fans gathered to throw down with artists like Jelly Roll, Jake Owen, Lainey Wilson, and Shaboozey, our brand sponsors, FanDuel and Hellmann’s enhanced the experience. Through a series of branded moments, on-stage brand shoutouts, exclusive giveaways, and massive digital signage across the venue, brands get consistent, high-impact visibility. 

But the reach doesn’t stop there. Social media at the event was buzzing, producing over 2.78M social impressions as tourists from across the country made it to Music Row Happy Hour Live to check it off their bucket list, mingle with Buzz Brainard, and check out what brand sponsors had to say. Each sponsor was also featured on The Highway’s Instagram account with 308K followers, driving excitement and affinity for brands beyond the event. 

Reach listeners anywhere, anytime 

Advertising across platforms like Pandora connects advertisers with country music fans anywhere, anytime. Pandora stations like Today’s Country saw over 1.8M unique visitors in June 2024. Thanks to events like Music Row Happy Hour, we see lifts in artists stations on Pandora, too. Jelly Roll has had over 1M UV’s on Pandora since May. Ranking #1 in brand awareness for online audio brands (edging out Spotify, Apple Music, and iHeart ) and #1 in ad-supported audio, advertising across Pandora is a no-brainer. Check out some of our top Pandora stations for country music,

Increase brand awareness, consideration, and purchase intent, when you partner with SiriusXM Media. 

Party with SiriusXM Media IRL 

For advertisers looking to engage with fans in person, SiriusXM Media’s live events are the place to be. In addition to franchise events like Race Weekend, El Pulso, Big Game, and Small Stage Series, we offer a variety of sponsorship opportunities. 

SoundCloud Next Wav events empower and reward artists on the platform and their communities. SoundCloud reaches young, diverse, and affluent audiences who are looking for the next big star. Each full-day event is packed with artists-centric workshops, creative activations for brands, local live music from the cities hottest talent, and more—bringing artists, fans, and the brands they love together. 

And if podcasts are your thing, join us this summer as we hit the road with podcast creators and bring IRL experiences to cities across the country, with beloved podcasters like the hosts from The Nikki & Brie Show, The Read, and Erazno y La Chokolata. Listeners on the SiriusXM Podcast Network turn their love for podcasts up a notch and run to attend podcast events that feel like they’re hanging with their besties.

Our live events create unique experiences for our listeners, build brand relationships for our sponsors, and leave both parties feeling energized. Whether advertisers are looking to join us in person or across digital audio, SiriusXM Media will help you walk the line. Let’s chat.